Little girl, arise

 

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  

 

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  

 

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

- Luke 8:40-56 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?'  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.  Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.  

 

  So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  At this stage in Christ's Galilean ministry, it is a measure of His stature and renown that a ruler of the synagogue came to Him, fell at His feet, and begged Him to come to his house, to save his dying daughter.  Yet again, the multitudes thronged Him.  

 

 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  The Orthodox Study Bible comments that this woman exhibits bold faith by approaching both Christ and a ruler of the synagogue in the crowd.  She was potentially defiling all of them and subjecting herself to ridicule. In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, and imposed religious and social restrictions, because contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Leviticus 15:25).  This suffering woman accounted herself unclean, but she nonetheless approaches Jesus secretly and with great faith.

 

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  The Study Bible notes that Christ's question, "Who touched Me?" does not simply mean a physical touch, but rather, "Who touched Me in faith?"  So just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so also matter is sanctified by Christ's Incarnation, and the power of Christ works through even His garment.  To touch Christ's garment in faith is to touch Him, declares the Study Bible.  In the Church, we touch Christ through icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc.  When this is done in faith, the power of Christ is received.

 

Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."    Christ brings this woman good cheer because of her faith.  He also corrects her thinking, according to the Study Bible, for she could not hide her touch from Him, nor was she excluded from Him because of her illness.  He clearly exhibits her faith to all, so they might imitate her.  The Orthodox Study Bible says that Jesus calls her forward to take away her fear and trembling and also to strengthen Jairus for the forthcoming news of his daughter's death.

 

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  The Study Bible comments that authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6).  As Jesus is of one essence with the Father, He has this authority (John 5:21).  This is one of three resurrections performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels (see also Luke 7:11-17; John 11:1-44).  These confirm the promise given to the prophet Ezekiel that God will one day open the graves and raise all the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  Many people have exercised authority over the living, the Study Bible notes, but only the Son of God "has power over both the living and the dead" (Orthodox funeral service).   In the story of the woman with the flow of blood, even touching His clothing in faith gave off that power.  

 

Christ's command in today's reading, "Little girl, arise," is a prefiguring of what is to come in the Resurrection of all.  The Orthodox Study Bible suggests this when it notes the promise of the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  In this sense, "Little girl, arise" is similar to the command Jesus gave to His friend Lazarus, "Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43), another resurrection account in the Gospels (one of three, as noted above).   Such "echoes" of what is to be fulfilled in the final Resurrection of all remind us that the Holy Bible is filled with patterns.  One way in which such patterns work happens through what are called "types."  These are prefiguring or foreshadowing figures from the Old Testament that are fulfilled in Christ, who came into the world as the Incarnate Jesus.  Figures such as the prophet Jonah, for example, form a "type" of Christ.  Jesus Himself confirms this in His statements regarding the "sign" which is so often demanded of Him by the religious leaders.  He tells them, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah" (see Matthew 12:39, 16:4; Luke 11:29-30).  In today's reading, we have events which prefigure the fulfillment of all things, the time of the Resurrection and the Last Judgment.  The varied resurrection accounts in the Gospels give us not simply a taste of what is to come, but they help us to know Christ.  He says of Himself, "I am the resurrection and the life" (see John 11:25-26).  Such "I am" statements are intended for us to understand, also, that Christ is the Incarnate Lord who gives His name to Moses as "I AM" in Exodus 3:14.  In the healing of the woman with the blood flow, we see Christ as Physician.  But we are also to know that in the culmination of all things, the Resurrection and the Last Judgment, is also the salvation of all the cosmos.  It is, ultimately, the correction of all things, in which we see the world made new (Revelation 21:5).  This is the restorative touch conveyed to one who touches even His clothes, but does so in faith.  This, also, is the power of resurrection at work, for in the Resurrection (and in "the resurrection and the life") we find the healing of all things, restoration.  Blood is the symbol of life, and so her loss of blood (for twelve years) represents to us the ebbing of life; that is, life which is now restored to her through her faith in Christ.  Finally, we see in these patterns in the Gospel, Christ's influence upon our own lives; we may even see events we can experience through our faith.  For, "I am the resurrection and the life" is a statement about Christ Himself, which is always true.  When we go through a defeat or a loss, or when we experience suffering or setbacks, we turn to Christ and our faith and cooperation with grace to find a way through.  In this way, all things become filled with meaning, are opportunities for spiritual growth, even renewal, cleansing, and healing.  For wherever He is, grace always operates and awaits our faith and cooperation.  Like the woman with the terrible blood flow for twelve years, we live our faith to find what the divine Physician may do for us that the worldly cannot.